COL Streight, Abel Delos

Abel Delos Streight

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Streight.jpg


Born: June 17, 1828

Birthplace: Wheeler, New York

Father:
Asa Streight 1800 – 1883

Mother: Lydia Spaulding 1804 – 1870

Wife: Lovina McCarthy 1830 – 1910
(Buried: Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Indiana)​

Married: January 14, 1849 in Bath New York

Children:

John Streight 1856 – 1905​
(Buried: Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Indiana)​

Occupation before War:

Publisher of Books and Maps in Indianapolis, Indiana​

Civil War Career:

1861: Author of The Crisis of Eighteen Hundred and Sixty – one
1861 – 1865: Colonel of 51st​ Indiana Infantry Regiment​
1861 – 1862: Saw very little service during the first two years.​
1863: Proposed a plan to General Garfield to raid the Deep South.​
The plan was to disrupt the Weldon and Atlantic Railroad.​
1863: Led around 2,000 men on what would be Streight’s raid.​
1863: The Command was mounted on mules instead of horses.​
1863: Captured by Nathan Bedford Forrest near Rome, Georgia.​
1863 – 1864: Prisoner of War held at Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia​
1864: Successfully Escaped from Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia​
1864: Participated in the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee​
1864: Participated in the Battle of Nashville, Tennessee​
1865: Resigned from the Union Army on March 16th​

Occupation after War:

1866: Confirmed as Brevet Brigadier General to rank from March 1865​
Lumber and Manufacturing Businessman in Indianapolis, Indiana​
1876: Unsuccessful Candidate for Indiana State Senator​
1880: Unsuccessful Republican Candidate for Governor of Indiana.
Streight 1.jpg
1888: Indiana State Senator​

Died: May 27, 1892

Place of Death: Indianapolis, Indiana

Cause of Death: Bright’s disease

Age at time of Death: 63 years old

Original Burial Place: Front Lawn, 4121 East Washington Street, Indianapolis, Indiana

Burial Place: Since 1902: Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Indiana
 
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For those with an interest in Abel Steight, @Norman Dasinger Jr is scheduled to provide a CivilWarTalk Presents program on Streight's Raid live on Zoom on Wednesday, May 5, 2021 at 8:30 pm EST. The program will be on (very nearly) the 158th Anniversary of the actual event. Hope you will mark the date on your calendar and plan to join us. Look for the announcement in the calendar events section soon. The registration link will be added closer to time.
 
One thing I have never understood about Streight's raid - what was the "exit strategy"? to borrow a modern term.

Grierson was actually heading towards his refuge in Union lines the further he penetrated into Confederate territory, but Streight was just digging himself deeper into a hole. Union lines were still around Murfreesboro, unless he was planning to go all the way to Pensacola or Hilton Head. Were Streight and his force just considered expendable?
 
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My Sigma Chi Fraternity brother, Daniel Hay, was Captain of Company I, 80th IL Infantry. He had been wounded at Perryville in October, 1862, but was back in time for the Streight Raid. It appears that he was held for a time in Richmond (Probably Libby) before being transferred to Danville and then to Camp Asylum, SC, and not part of the great escape. As a remembrance of his time as a guest of the Confederacy, he suffered from Erysipelas. According to Dickinson College Alumni Records, he was a non-graduate member of the class of 1863. He lived in Norman Oklahoma for several years after the war. His profession was listed as lawyer and merchant. He died in Peoria, Illinois, April 3, 1897.
 
I would think a feeling of resentment toward Streight would have been felt by others not treated "near as well" in the prison. That could have led to mistrust, an element neither needed nor welcome when helping organize and contemplating an escape.I would also like to know how Streight fared compared to Col. Rose's treatment.Why was Streight given special treatment?
 
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